This invention relates to ground water drainage systems comprising drainage pipes and catch basins. More particularly, this invention relates to methods and assemblies for joining such articles.
Ground water drainage systems commonly comprise a cylindrical upwardly opening catch basin having at least a first drainage line or pipe extending laterally and outwardly therefrom. In such water drainage systems, the catch basin is commonly buried within the ground to a depth allowing the basin""s upper opening to be substantially flush with the ground surface. The lateral lines or pipes of such system, whose openings necessarily underlie the basin""s upper opening, extend beneath the ground to a desired drainage outlet point. The catch basins and lateral line pipes of such systems are commonly composed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic.
A commonly known method of joining such a lateral line PVC pipes to a catch basin comprises steps of cutting an aperture through a side wall of the PVC catch basin and driving outwardly through such aperture a heated conical mandrel, such mandrel drawing the edges of such aperture outwardly to form a nipple. Such mandrel forming method is necessarily precisely controlled to cause the outside diameter of the nipple to match the inside diameter of the PVC pipe, allowing the PVC pipe to be adhesively bonded to the nipple.
The above described common pipe joining method cannot be efficiently or economically performed in the field. Such method necessitates that the basin""s lateral line fittings be fabricated in a plastics working shop in advance of installation of the drainage system in the field. Thus, utilization of such common method undesirably requires both the placement and size of lateral line fittings to be determined in advance of system installation.
The instant inventive assembly and method overcomes problems set forth and described above by providing an elastomeric foam expansible ring adapted for compressively sealing an annulus within a catch basin side wall aperture and surrounding a lateral line drainage pipe.
A core structural component utilized in the instant inventive assembly and method comprises an elastomeric ring having an annular outer surface, an annular inner surface, and having a hollow annular expansion space. Preferably, the annular outer surface forms annular forwardly facing and rearwardly facing slide stops which, in combination with the annular outer surface form an annular outwardly opening channel. Necessarily, a fluid injection port extends through a forward or rearward side wall of the elastomeric ring, such port allowing injection of closed cell resilient foam in its fluid state into the annular hollow expansion space. Also necessarily, fluid flow within the fluid injection port is controlled by fluid flow control means such as a check valve or a pinch valve. Preferably, the elastomeric ring is composed of vulcanized natural or synthetic rubber.
The instant inventive assembly and method preferably further comprises an upwardly opening water catching basin. Preferably, such basin is cylindrical in shape, having either a circular lateral cross section or a rectangular or substantially square lateral cross section. While the catch basin may suitably be composed of aluminum, stainless steel, or galvanized steel, the catch basin is preferably composed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic.
The instant inventive assembly and method preferably further comprises a lateral line drainage pipe extending laterally from a side wall of the water catching basin. While such pipe may be suitably composed of iron, steel, or fired clay, such pipe is preferably composed of PVC plastic.
Finally, the instant inventive assembly and method preferably further comprises closed cell resilient foam of the type which, in its fluid state, may be injected through, for example, a check valve stem and thence into the annular hollow expansion space of the elastomeric ring. Preferably, the closed cell resilient foam comprises polyether urethane foam, or polyester urethane foam. However, polyethylene, phenolic, polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyisocyanurate foams may be suitably substituted.
It may be observed that for any size or gauge of water catching basin, it may be desirable under differing circumstances to extend laterally therefrom differently sized lateral drainage pipes. For example, where the catch basin is required to drain a large volume of water in a short length of time, it may be desirable to extend therefrom a large six inch lateral line. Alternately, where the catch basin is intended to handle a smaller volume of water, it may be suitable to extend therefrom a smaller three inch lateral line. In order to utilize the instant inventive assembly and method for attachment of such varying sizes of lateral lines to the catch basin, it is preferred that an operator have available several elastomeric rings, such rings being closely fitted for usage with common sizes of lateral line pipes.
According to the method of the instant assembly and method, an appropriately sized circular lateral line receiving aperture is cut through a side wall of a water catching basin. Where, for example, a six inch PVC lateral line or pipe is to be extended from the catch basin, the diameter of the lateral line receiving aperture is preferably approximately ten inches, allowing an elastomeric ring, such as described above, to fill the approximately two inch annulus which is formed upon axial extension of such pipe into such aperture.
Upon cutting such ten inch aperture, an appropriately sized elastomeric ring, configured as described above, is flexibly placed within the aperture, allowing said ring""s forward slide stop to contact the outer surface of the wall of the catch basin. Where the slide stops of the elastomeric ring form an outwardly opening channel, the edge of said aperture is nestingly positioned within such channel. Upon installation of the ring upon the catch basin, the exemplary six inch PVC pipe is extended through the pipe receiving space of the elastomeric ring.
Upon configuration of the pipe, elastomeric ring, and catch basin as described above, the closed cell resilient foam in its fluid state is compressively injected through the foam injection port, allowing such foam to expand within the expansion space, driving the annular inner and outer surfaces of the elastomeric ring inwardly and outwardly, and causing such ring to seal the annulus between the outer surface of the pipe and the inner edge of the catch basin aperture. Such seal dually functions as a means for fixedly attaching the pipe to the catch basin and as means for preventing leakage of water.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly and method for joining lateral line drainage pipes and catch basins utilizing a resilient foam expansible sealing ring.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such pipe joining assembly and method which is conveniently assemblable and utilizable in the field.
Other and further objects, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become known to those skilled in the art upon review of the Detailed Description which follows, and upon review of the appended drawings.